The Italy international is bidding to inspire his boyhood club to their first scudetto since El Diego graced the city in 1990, with a one point lead over Juventus at the top of Serie A.

But despite the Argentinian's divine status in Naples, Insigne admits it was Ronaldo, who starred for the Partenopei's Serie A rivals Inter during his childhood, who became his hero—though not purely for his influence on the pitch.

"I also want to apologize to my father. Because when I was eight years old, I committed a sin," Insigne confesses in his Players' Tribune piece. "I wanted a very specific pair of boots. I wanted the R9s. The boots of the genius, Ronaldo. Do you remember those? Silver, blue and yellow.

"They were iconic. Ronaldo had just played in the ’98 World Cup in those boots, and it was all I would talk about. 'Papa, please, please, please get me the Ronaldo boots'. Every day. Every day.

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"Thinking back on it, he probably wanted to kill me, because the only player my father ever wanted to talk about was Maradona. I grew up with only the myth of El Diego and his greatness, and of course he is a legend all over the world.

"But in Napoli? In Napoli? He is like a God. My father wanted me to get some plain black boots like Maradona wore, you know? But I said, “No, you don’t understand. Ronaldo is the greatest.”

Insigne also admits Inter, Torino and even Napoli snubbed him at trials on many occasions due to being a 'shorty', with his slight 5 ft 3 in frame.

Maradona has a godlike status in Naples (Image: Allsport)

Insigne could match Maradona's cult-like status if he inspires the Azzurri to the scudetto (Image: Francesco Pecoraro)

But despite nearing the point of giving up, the fantasista eventually convinced Napoli to take a chance on him at 15 years old: a debut against Livorno in 2010 was just the beginning, even if he previously admitted one appearance in the famous blue shirt would enable him to "die happy."

Now the local boy in Maurizio Sarri's side, the club's fans have a new idol. With a satisfaction to remain with the club for many years despite inevitable offers from Europe's biggest clubs, Insigne really is the heir to El Diego's throne.

"When people speak bad about Napoli, they need to wake up. Even God himself loved it here. And by God, of course I mean Mr. Maradona," Insigne concludes, referencing the icon's nickname 'D10S'.